England: Manchester City and Arsenal's English Premier League match scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed as a precautionary measure following the announcement on Tuesday that Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest club owner Evangelos Marinakis had contracted COVID-19.
The Gunners revealed a number of players have been forced to self-isolate for 14 days as a precaution against coronavirus.
An unnamed group of players met Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis after the defeat to the Greek side at the Emirates on February 27 – and the 52-year-old has since tested positive for Covid-19.
Arsenal said in a statement: “We have been taking medical advice and tracing any individuals who had what the guidelines define as close contact with him [Marinakis] at the game 13 days ago.
“As a result of this exercise we identified that a number of players met the Olympiacos owner immediately following the game.
“The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing Covid-19 at extremely low. However, we are strictly following the Government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact.
“The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires. Four Arsenal staff, who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.”
Meanwhile, the PL confirmed that the game between Man City and Arsenal, which was due to take place at the Etihad on Wednesday night, was being rescheduled as a ‘precautionary measure’.
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On Wednesday, an official Premier League statement said:
Thirteen days ago, Olympiacos played Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the UEFA Europa League and Mr Marinakis, the Greek club's owner, met with several Arsenal squad members and staff.
Following medical advice, Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC consider it is necessary to postpone their fixture to give time to fully assess the situation.
The Premier League has therefore agreed that tonight's (Wednesday's) match will be rearranged.
We understand this will cause inconvenience and cost to fans planning to attend the game but Arsenal, Manchester City and the Premier League have agreed that the short notice of Mr Marinakis' infection means there is no alternative but to take the time to complete a proper assessment of risk.
All necessary measures are being taken and the Premier League currently has no plans to postpone any other matches.
